I mean, it kind of works in this day and age, but still, I went to the movies to watch a movie. Not clips from the subsequent interactive role player game.

Oh and the Goblin King looked like he was from a sick kid's book. I didn't believe he was real at all.
And his parting line was cheap.

OK, enough negativity.....

Ze Never-Ending Pros
The plot is being handled beautifully. I'm SO pleased.

The troll part, which I was warned about due to it being turned into a "big battle," was hardly bad at all. It still concluded very near to how it happened in the book. And they're bringing in more details with Sauron the Necromancer and all that stuff so that the Battle of the Five Kings will actually make sense for moviegoers.

And dude, Saruman was actually really funny in that scene in Rivendell. Mushrooms....

How did y'all feel about tying it so closely to the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring? I think it's splendid. The return of Ian Holm and Elijah Wood is quite great. It brings the whole movie closer to home if you're already familiar with LOTR.

The casting is incredible. I had great faith in Martin Freeman as Bilbo. And I didn't expect to be a Thorin fan, but man, is he not the most awesome dwarf in all of Middle Earth? :D

Also Ori is my favorite. He's like a little stuffy three year old in preschool.

Overall, the graphics were amazing. The new themes were amazing. And the whole Company singing around the Bag End hearth is the best thing to ever happen to my ears :P

Riddles In The Dark was marvelously played. I got chills.

Oh, and the costume design was stellar. And the makeup.

Radagast was wonderful. What did you think of him?

For almost the whole time, I could pretty much feel Middle Earth beneath my feet. Location, location, location.....

Come on somebody lets pool our money so we can move to New Zealand together.

I could go on forever about how good it was. But I won't.

Really though. How do the rest of you feel about the movie? And how many times have you seen it?

11 comments:

three times!!! And every time I saw it, I loved it more and more (honestly, I would go to see it again, but there is the matter of money to get into the theatre...plus my parents think I'm absolutely nuts for liking a movie this much. :D What can I say? I love anything Tolkien!)

My favorite dwarves are Thorin, Bifur, and Kili (though Thorin is many because I've started watching the BBC Robin Hood...and he is epic as Guy of Gisbourne). And Radagast and Bilbo are my favorite non-dwarven characters.

Saw it twice and LOVED it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The first time we went was with a huge group of our homeschool friends (about 30 people...) and we all dressed up! The second time was after Christmas and we went as a family, because my dad hadn't seen it yet. I think I appreciated it more the second time, just because I was able to focus more on what they were saying, the plot, character building, etc. instead of just being all "It's finally here! I'm finally watching it! Gah!"

Negatives:

Gotta say, I didn't really care for the whole pale orc thing. While it's definitely a well developed story line, it wasn't in the book, and I'm a stickler for accuracy. Also, I suppose the scene with the eagles coming to rescue them could have been done better, simply because Thorin does not run out of the tree and Bilbo doesn't save him! Bilbo and Thorin's 'heart-to-heart" scene also doesn't come through until the very end of the book, when Thorin's dieing....(you have read it, right? Hope I didn't spoil anything...) AND the ponies get eaten by the orcs, they do not disappear before that!

What I liked:

Everything!!!!!!!!!!! Loved Thorin....he is the best. Also really like Fili, Kili, and Bifor....Very happy to see Radagast, as he's always been my favorite wizard. Martin Freeman is my ultimate favorite actor, and I'm so glad that Bennedict Cumberbatch is going to be the voice of Smaug! He's going to do a great job! Also loved the beginning...it set the scene well and gave folks who may not have read the book (namely my father....) some perspective on when this is all coming about!

I saw it twice and adored it! Ori and Bofor are my two favorites. I agree, the Dwarves theme did get a little overdone...And I loved Radagast as well! I'm glad I'm not the only one. He seems doomed to be ridiculed like poor Jar Jar Binks.

Hey I feel pretty much like you about the Hobbit! Dwarf theme was awesome, a little overused, and the goblin king did not convince me of anything at all! If the whole, um, spectacle had been taken out, the goblins would have been much scarier or at least more believable:) Ha ha I'm talking about belivable in a LOTR movie:)

Regarding the Steward of the Castle:

T.D., short for The Director, is a college freshman who feels five years old some days and twenty-five on others. She tries to love the Lord with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength but she is but a lowly mortal who gets distracted by pretty lights and shiny objects. She loves writing, making music, sharing the things God is doing in her life, and getting to know people. Unfortunately she's rather long-winded but she tries to make it worth your time.
She's plagued by delusions of grandeur and wants to be a filmmaker, screenwriter, missionary, teacher, musician, semi-famous-youtuber, and travel the world and live in a cozy apartment above a music store in the city. Preferably all at once.